Method and Apparatus of a Marking Objects in Images Displayed on a Portable Unit

ABSTRACT

Location markers are placed on objects presented on a display screen. The location markers can be letters, numbers, or shapes placed near the desired objects to be viewed. After magnification, those earlier determined location markers of the display screen are located off-screen. However, arrows are labeled and point to the off-screen markers. The user moves the background image in the direction of the arrow to find that object. This innovative technique allows the user to mark locations, magnify the image of the map, and find all marked locations (without reverting to a lower magnification) by following pointers that direct the user to locations that are currently out of view of the screen. Furthermore, the user can find all marked locations without getting lost.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application is related to the co-filed U.S. applicationentitled “Method and Apparatus for Identifying a 3-D Object from a 2-DDisplay of a Portable Unit” filed on Dec. 26, 2011 with Ser. No.13/______ and the co-filed U.S. application entitled “Method andApparatus of Physically Moving a Portable Unit to View an Image of aStationary Map” filed on Dec. 26, 2011 with Ser. No. 13/______, whichare all invented by the at least one common inventor as the presentapplication and are all incorporated herein by reference in theirentireties.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Handheld units or portable devices such as cell phones, smart phones,iPads, Kindles, Blackberries, Navigation devices (Magellan or Garmin)and Android systems offer the ability to use location assistant devicessuch as maps. Maps online are provided by Google, Yahoo!Maps, MapQuestMaps and Bing Maps. When a user of the portable device uses maps, themap can be scrolled by using a button control or a touch screen. Thetouch screen buttons can adjust direction of map movement and can scalethe image on the screen. For example, when using the touch screen twofingers sliding toward each other decreases the scale while sliding thetwo fingers sliding apart magnifies the scale. Both types of controloffer the same results. In addition, some of these commands can be madeby speaking where an on-board voice recognition unit can interpret thevoice of the user and comply. When the destination is viewed and an itemof interest may be outside of the range of the screen of the handhandheld unit, one must scale down (minimize) the screen to get abearing of where this particular item of interest is with respect to theinitial requested destination. However, at times, that scaled down mapeliminates detail forcing the user to scale up (magnify) the map toreveal more detail of the map on the screen or display of the portableunit. These minimization and magnification processes may cause the userto lose bearing, particularly since the distance between locations isdifficult to sense from scrolling the map across the screen of aportable device. This invention helps to overcome this shortcoming incurrent portable systems for providing map directions and offer severalother advantages as well.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Various embodiments and aspects of the inventions will be described withreference to details discussed below, and the accompanying drawings willillustrate the various embodiments. Some diagrams are not drawn toscale. The following description and drawings are illustrative of theinvention and are not to be construed as limiting the invention.Numerous specific details are described to provide a thoroughunderstanding of various embodiments of the present invention. However,in certain instances, well-known or conventional details are notdescribed in order to provide a concise discussion of embodiments of thepresent inventions.

One of the embodiments of the disclosure introduces a background mapthat remains stationary. It is the portable unit that moves within aplane parallel to the screen of the portable unit. As the user moves theunit, images of the background map appear on the screen of the portabledevice. The user scans the stationary map presented on the screen of amoving portable unit. This has several benefits since now relativedistances and angular displacements between objects that are outside ofthe range of the screen of the portable unit can be immediately locatedand placed into view on the screen of a portable unit. The unit is movedthrough space to a physical position that has the coordinates ofdistance and angle from an origin or reference point. The distance andangle are used to by the system to calculate the portion of thestationary map that would be visible on the screen of the portable unit.The handheld or portable unit is like a Sliding Window which provides aview of this image of a stationary map lying in the background of theportable unit. The image on the screen of the portable unit is comprisedof a number of points or pixels.

Current processors are being clocked at 1 billion cycles per second andfaster. In addition, there are special purpose accelerators for videoapplications. The calculations for the Sliding Window mode should beable to run in real time displaying images on the screen of the portabledevice as the device is moved. Due to the superior performance, as theuser moves the portable unit, the appropriate portion of the stationaryimage of the map appears on the screen. The image on the screen and thestationary background image are effectively superimposed over oneanother. Thus, the user assesses the relative distance between a sourcelocation and a destination location and because the user moved theportable unit to view the destination location, the user can feel orrelate to the distance because of the physical motion. And it is notonly the relative distance that is available, but it's also theorientation or movement at an angle of the handheld unit that providesfurther information about the content of the image.

Another one of the embodiments of the disclosure introduces a way ofinitializing the handheld device to enter the Siding Window function.For example, a tilt and a shift of the handheld unit can indicate to thehandheld unit to enter the Sliding Window mode. Another method is byvoice command by stating “Sliding Window mode”. Finally, a button (on ascreen or a physical one on the unit) can be depressed to enter theSliding Window mode.

A further embodiment is to mark an area of interest on the screen of aportable device. Each interesting location on the screen is marked by atransparent flag or marker. Then, when the user scales up (magnifies theimage) the map to view one of the locations, transparent arrows areplaced on the screen identified with transparent location markersindicating the direction the user needs to move to arrive at theremaining desired locations marked by markers. In this embodiment,either the portable unit can be moved while the map remains stationaryor the device remains stationary while the map is moved by the touchscreen. By following the transparent arrow, which constantly calculatesthe new direction as movement occurs, the user arrives at the desiredlocation, often in a shortest distance, without getting lost. Once thislocation is viewed, the user can then proceed to follow a secondtransparent arrow corresponding to a second desired location. This canbe done for each marked location without changing the scale or enteringnew data since all transparent arrows (markers) can be shown on thescreen. An option can exist where the user moves to the marked locationimmediately by issuing a verbal or physical command.

Another embodiment is to view a stationary three dimensional (3-D)background image by moving the handheld unit within a three dimensional(3-D) space. The map would be three dimensional and would correspond inscale to the display screen of the portable unit. The third dimensionalcan be viewed by moving the device perpendicular to the plane of thescreen of the portable device forming a rectangular cuboid (in addition,this angle can be different than 90°). Thus, slices of the volume of the3-D image are viewed. The user can view the map in the XY plane, XZplane, YZ plane or any angled plane between these three axes.

Another embodiment is to view a three dimensional (3-D) background imageby moving the background image of a movable map on the screen of astationary portable unit. The touch screen can be used to move the imagein two dimensions corresponding to the plane of the screen. The thirddimension would be perpendicular or at some angle from the handheld unitwithin a three dimensional (3-D) space. The third dimensional can beviewed by moving the map perpendicular to the plane of the screen of theportable device, by a temperature scale or touching a transparent tailor head. Thus, slices or cross sections, of the volume of the 3-D imageare viewed on the screen. The user can integrate the cross sectionalimages to determine the solid. The user can view the map in the XYplane, XZ plane, YZ plane or any angled plane between these three axes.

One embodiment of such a Sliding Window can be used viewing 3-D maps ofstreets, geographical locations, and locations within buildings androoms. The physical interaction of the user with the map provides afreedom of motion and interaction with the image of a stationary mapwhich earlier technologies could not provide. This aspect can be used inother programs that may be useful for entertainment, business, andleisure.

In the world of entertainment, some users enjoy games such as angrybirds, where the user interacts with the game. The physical interactionof the Sliding Window with the stationary image can be used to create agame where one may have to scan the area to reach certain goal locationsthat provide winning points. Obstacles may be placed in the paths whichneed to be avoided. The user can feel where the obstacles and the goallocations are by relative displacement from the initial or referencelocation. The user avoids touching the obstacle and making their way tothe goal locations.

Another embodiment of a game would be to view several parallel planesand integrate the images together within the mind of the user. The userthen uses this information to guess what the shape of the object is.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Please note that the drawings shown in this specification may notnecessarily be drawn to scale and the relative dimensions of variouselements in the diagrams are depicted schematically. The inventionspresented here may be embodied in many different forms and should not beconstrued as limited to the embodiments set forth herein. Rather, theseembodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be through andcomplete, and will fully convey the scope of the invention to thoseskilled in the art. In other instances, well-known structures andfunctions have not been shown or described in detail to avoidunnecessarily obscuring the description of the embodiment of theinvention. Like numbers refer to like elements in the diagrams.

FIG. 1 a depicts a connection between the internet and a notebookcomputer.

FIG. 1 b shows a block diagram representation of the connection in FIG.1 a.

FIG. 2 a illustrates a connection between the internet and a portabledevice in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 2 b shows a block diagram of the portable device in FIG. 2 a inaccordance with the present invention.

FIG. 3 a presents a map where a large scale and a first sub-portion ofthe map can be viewed on the screen of a portable device depending onthe scale in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 3 b presents a map of the first sub-portion that fills the fullscreen of a portable device at the magnified scale in accordance withthe present invention.

FIG. 3 c depicts the map where the same large scale and a secondsub-portion of the map can be viewed on the screen of a portable devicedepending on the scale in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 3 d shows the map where the same large scale and a thirdsub-portion of the map can be viewed on the screen of a portable devicedepending on the scale in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 4 a illustrates the hand-held stationary device presenting thefirst sub-portion of the map on the screen of a portable device when thescale is magnified in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 4 b depicts the hand-held stationary device presenting the secondsub-portion of the map on the screen of a portable device when the scaleis magnified in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 4 c illustrates the hand-held stationary device presenting thethird sub-portion of the map on the screen of a portable device when thescale is magnified in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 5 a depicts a representative map where a large scale and a firstsub-scale portion of the representative map can be viewed on the screenof a portable hand held device depending on the scale in accordance withthe present invention.

FIG. 5 b depicts a representative map where the first sub-scale portionof the representative map is viewed on the screen of a portable handheld device at a magnified scale in accordance with the presentinvention.

FIG. 6 a shows a sub-scale portion of the representative map of FIG. 5 acan be viewed on the screen of a portable hand held device when thescale is magnified in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 6 b illustrates a first sub-scale portion of the representative mapof FIG. 5 a that can be viewed on the screen of a portable hand helddevice after the portable hand held device is physically moved inaccordance with the present invention.

FIG. 6 c shows a second sub-scale portion of the representative map ofFIG. 5 a that can be viewed on the screen of a portable hand held deviceafter the portable hand held device is physically moved in accordancewith the present invention.

FIG. 6 d depicts a third sub-scale portion of the representative map ofFIG. 5 a that can be viewed on the screen of a portable hand held deviceafter the portable hand held device is physically moved in accordancewith the present invention.

FIG. 6 e illustrates a fourth sub-scale portion of the representativemap of FIG. 5 a that can be viewed on the screen of a portable hand helddevice after the portable hand held device is physically moved inaccordance with the present invention.

FIG. 6 f illustrates a fifth sub-scale portion of the representative mapof FIG. 5 a that can be viewed on the screen of a portable hand helddevice after the portable hand held device is physically moved inaccordance with the present invention.

FIG. 6 g depicts a sixth sub-scale portion of the representative map ofFIG. 5 a that can be viewed on the screen of a portable hand held deviceafter the portable hand held device is physically moved in accordancewith the present invention.

FIG. 6 h shows a seventh sub-scale portion of the representative map ofFIG. 5 a that can be viewed on the screen of a portable hand held deviceafter the portable hand held device is physically moved in accordancewith the present invention.

FIG. 6 i presents an eighth sub-scale portion of the representative mapof FIG. 5 a that can be viewed on the screen of a portable hand helddevice after the portable hand held device is physically moved inaccordance with the present invention.

FIG. 6 j depicts the first, fourth, sixth and eighth sub-scale portionsof the representative map of FIG. 5 a that can be viewed on the screenof a portable hand held device after the portable hand held device isphysically moved to these locations in accordance with the presentinvention

FIG. 7 a-d shows a search process to find a particular sub-portion ofthe representative map of FIG. 5 a that can be found on the screen of aportable hand held device after the portable hand held device isphysically moved in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 8 a presents the first sub-portion of the map in FIG. 3 a that canbe viewed on the screen of a portable device when the scale is magnifiedin accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 8 b depicts the second sub-portion of the map in FIG. 3 b that canbe viewed on the screen of a portable device when the scale is magnifiedand the portable device has been physically moved in accordance with thepresent invention.

FIG. 8 c illustrates the third sub-portion of the map in FIG. 3 c thatcan be viewed on the screen of a portable device when the scale ismagnified and the portable device has been physically moved inaccordance with the present invention.

FIG. 8 d shows the first sub-portion of the map in FIG. 3 a that can beviewed on the screen of a portable device when the scale is magnifiedand the portable device has been physically moved to the initialposition in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 9 a presents the MEMS (Micro-electro-mechanical System) comprisingan inertial guidance system in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 9 b depicts a block diagram of a handheld device including theinertial guidance system of FIG. 9 a in accordance with the presentinvention.

FIG. 10 a illustrates the conventional map movement performed in astationary portable device.

FIG. 10 b shows the inventive portable device movement to view astationary map that provides a Sliding Window perspective of a map inaccordance with the present invention.

FIG. 11 a presents a flowchart of locating items in a map when the mapis moved in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 11 b depicts an inventive flowchart locating items in a map whenthe device or portable unit is moved in accordance with the presentinvention.

FIG. 12 illustrates a more detailed flowchart of the inventive portabledevice movement in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 13 a shows the representative map where a large scale or a firstsub-scale portion of the representative map can be viewed depending onthe scale on the screen of a portable hand held device with the abilityto place identifiers on various sub-portions in accordance with thepresent invention.

FIG. 13 b presents the magnified first sub-scale portion of therepresentative map indicating the identifiers in accordance with thepresent invention.

FIG. 14 depicts a flowchart of the inventive portable device movementfollow the identifiers in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 15 a shows a 3-D representative map where a Z-axis direction isadded to the X and Y-axes to view the large scale or a first sub-scaleportion of the representative map in three dimensions in accordance withthe present invention.

FIG. 15 b presents the progress in the positive Z-axis direction of animage show to the user in slices in accordance with the presentinvention.

FIG. 15 c depicts the movement away from the user by showing the tail(feathers) of the arrow in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 15 d presents the movement towards from the user by showing thehead (point) of the arrow in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 16 a illustrates transceivers in a local environment in accordancewith the present invention.

FIG. 16 b illustrates a handheld unit with transceivers in a localenvironment in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 16 c illustrates a handheld unit with transceivers and a processorin a local environment in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 17 shows a hand held device used in an application to avoidobstacles in attaining points in accordance with the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

FIG. 1 a illustrates a notebook computer with its pathways going tothrough the Internet to a server. The notebook computer 1-1 canwirelessly interconnect to a gateway 1-2 which along the path 1-4connects up to the Internet 1-5. The Internet 1-5 has a connection 1-6to a server 1-7. This path is bidirectional and allows the user of thenotebook 1-1 to access the server's database for data, or to manipulatethe server.

FIG. 1 b presents a more descriptive illustration of the individualcomponents that are in FIG. la. The entire system is in 1-8 whichcontains the notebook computer 1-17, the interface 1-21 between thecomputer and the Internet 1-18, the Internet itself, the interfacebetween the Internet 1-18 and the servers, and a set of servers 0-N. Thenotebook 1-17 contains a keyboard 1-13 coupled to the processor by anetwork 1-12, a screen 1-14 coupled to the processor by interface 1-11.A communication bus 1-10 coupling the processor 1-9 to the memory 1-15and a communication link 1-16. The communication link 1-16 couplesthrough the bi-directional interface 1-19 and 1-20 to the Internet 1-18.The Internet can then couple to the servers 1-25 through 1-26 via theinterconnect 1-24 and 1-23.

FIG. 2 a presents a portable hand-held device or a smart phone 2-1coupled to the Gateway by 1-2. The Gateway 1-3 is coupled to theInternet 1-5 by the interface 1-4 and the Internet 1-5 is coupled to theservers 1-7 by the interface 1-6. The interconnects 1-2, 1-4 and 1-6 arebi-directional allowing the portable unit or smart phone 2-1 to accessthe servers 1-7 for data or for the server to present data to the smartphone 2-1. The smart phone has a display screen that currently ispresenting icons of various applications (the array of rectangles).

FIG. 2 b presents a block diagram of the smart phone 2-2. The smartphone contains a processor 1-9 coupled by a bus 1-10 to a memory 1-15and a communication link 1-16. The processor also interfaces to akeyboard 1-13 through the interface 1-12 and to a screen 1-14 by theinterface 1-11. In fact, the screen can present a keyboard to the user.In addition, the processor can have other features which allow the usereasier access to the device, as well as, providing additional input tothe smart phone. For example, the smart phone can contain a voicerecognition unit 2-3 that communicates to the processor by interface2-3. An accelerometer or a set of accelerometers 2-4 providingdirections in three dimensions can also be located within the smartphone 2-4 and coupled to the processor by interface 2-5. The touchscreen 2-7 may be a sub-set of the screen 1-14 and can be sensitive to afinger touch sending the response via interface 2-6. For audio input andoutput response, an earphone and a speaker 2-12 can couple audio to/fromthe processor by 2-13 and for visual input, a camera 2-11 can provideinput to the processor via interface 2-10. Lastly, the processor cancouple externally through a wireless means 2-9 by the interface 2-8.Additionally there can be other features within the smart phone that maynot be listed here, as for example; power supplies, batteries and othersuch units which are very typical of smart phones but not illustrated tosimplify the complexity of the diagram.

In FIG. 3 a, the screen of a portable device is illustrated along withseveral features which can be displayed, for example, on a smart phone.Along the left boundary is a motion control 3-2 that can be depressed bya finger or thumb 3-3. By depressing the motion control an image orsection of the map is presented on the display. When a search isperformed, a magnification can be reduced to encompass more of the localarea. This allows the user to view adjacent items or locations that maybe of interest to the user. For example, the location searched was BellLabs but the user notices that the Watchung Reservation and SurpriseLake are nearby. Since the user enjoys hiking, the user remembers therelative positions of these locations.

In FIG. 3 a, the motion control can be depressed to move a particularsub-image of the map of the screen 3-1 into the center. Below the motioncontrol is a scale 3-4 with a solid pointer 3-5. The scale provides themagnification state of the display or screen. The magnificationincreases as the pointer moves towards to the positive symbol while themagnification decreases as the pointer moves towards the negativesymbol. Depressing the plus symbol moves the pointer upwards whiledepressing the negative symbol moves the pointer downwards. As thepointer moves towards the plus symbol; the image in the screen 3-1 ismagnified. When the pointer moves toward the negative symbol at theother end of the scale; the image in the screen 3-1 is reduced or scaleddown. Thus, by using the combination of the motion control 3-2 and thescale 3-4 together, a new sub-section of the map 3-9 can be displayed inthe center and scaled (for example, see FIG. 3 b).

Once the user selects a more magnified view of Bell Labs as illustratedin FIG. 3 b, the user has a sense of where the Watchung Reservation andSurprise Lake are located. The user can then use the motion control 3-2or slide their finger on the screen in the direction of either theWatchung Reservation or Surprise Lake at a magnification associated withthe bubble 3-8 (slider at position 3-7). However, it is easy to get lostas one finger scrolls the map image by touching the screen or using themotion control 3-2. When the user gets lost happens, the user reducesmagnification to find out their current location (returns back to FIG. 3a). When the pointer is at 3-5, the scale is set (as indicated by thebubble 3-6 illustrating the association of the two solid lined arrows)to provide the screen of the portable unit illustrated within the solidboundaries 3-1. As the solid pointer 3-5 is moved to and overlays thedotted pointer 3-7, the image within the dashed line boundary 3-9 ismagnified to fill the full screen of 3-1; however, this magnification isnot presented in FIG. 3 a to simplify the diagram. In addition, when themotion control 3-2 is simultaneously depressed by the finger 3-3, a newimage is presented within the dashed screen of 3-9 showing in this casethe magnified location of Bell Labs, FIG. 3 b. This new display wouldfill the original display screen 3-1 as depicted in FIG. 3 b. The actualscale of 3-9 being equal to the scale of 3-1 has not been illustrated inFIG. 3 a to simplify the diagram.

FIG. 3 b depicts that the size of the display in 3-9 is identical to thesize of the display in 3-1. For example, if the pointer is moved from3-5 to 3-7 (as indicated by the bubble 3-8 illustrating the associationof the two dashed lined arrows), the new display would present thosecomponents within the dashed region of 39. From this magnified image ofthe map, a more detailed description of the area surrounding Bell labsis presented. Some of the roads have been identified and named inaddition, the motion control 3-2 and the scale 3-4 which currently arepresented outside the boundaries of the screen of the portable unitwould be transparently superimposed over the image of the map and wouldbe located within screen of the portable unit but have not beenpresented in this regard in order to further simplify the diagram.

FIG. 3 b illustrates the case where the bubble 3-8 links the pointer 3-7and to the screen of the portable unit 3-9. Note that the screen of theportable unit 3-9 has the same dimensions as the screen of the portableunit 3-1 in FIG. 3 a. The slider 3-7 occupies the same location on thescale 3-4 as in FIG. 3 a. However, the map in FIG. 3 b provides agreater detail than the dashed box 3-9 in FIG. 3 a. The dashed box 3-9in FIG. 3 a is not shown to scale to simplify the presentation anddescription of FIG. 3 a.

In FIG. 3 c, the finger 3-3 is in a new position on the motion control3-2 (therefore, a different portion of the map will be presented) andwhen the pointer on the scale moves from 3-5 to 3-7, the sub-region 3-10of the map 3-1 shows the Watchung Reservation being presented in thedashed screen 3-10. As before, this new sub-region 3-10 of the map wouldfill the original display screen 3-1 although this is has not beenillustrated to reduced complexity of FIG. 3 c. Similarly in FIG. 3 d,because the finger 3-3 is in yet a newer position on the motion control3-2 (another portion of the map is presented) and when the pointer onthe scale moves from 3-5 to 3-7, the newer sub-region 3-11 of the map3-1 shows Surprise Lake being presented in the dashed screen 3-11. Asbefore, this newer sub-region of the map would fill the original displayscreen 3-1 although this is has not been illustrated to reducedcomplexity of FIG. 3 d.

In FIG. 4 a, the pointer 3-7 is now a solid line the dashed linesurrounding Bell Labs is also a solid line. The scale shows the pointer3-7 related to the screen of the portable unit 4-2 by the bubble 3-8.The previous slides of FIG. 3 a-d provided the knowledge of where theWatchung Reservation and Surprise Lake are located with reference toBell Labs. To get from Bell Labs to the Watchung Reservation whilealways keeping the pointer 3-7 in a constant position (same as the scalein FIG. 3 b), the following steps are followed. Again, what is actuallypresented on the screen of the portable unit 4-2 is equivalent to themap presented in FIG. 3 b. The remaining portions of the map 4-1 in FIG.4 a are not in the current view. However, the user remembers that theWatchung Reservation was to the lower right. Thus, the finger 3-3depresses the motion control 3-2 to cause the map 4-1 to move in adirection shows according to the move map arrow 4-3 to slide in thisportion of the map 4-1. The display currently presents the location ofBell Labs on the screen of the portable unit 4-2. The screen of theportable unit 4-2 would appear similar to that of FIG. 3 b. In thiscase, the handheld stationary device 4-4 indicates that the deviceremains stationary while the map moves. If the map is moved in thedirection of the arrow 4-3, the screen displays the map as the map ismoving in the direction of the arrow 4-3 until the screen eventuallypresents the Watchung Reservation.

In FIG. 4 b, the screen of the portable unit 4-7 is now shown presentingthe Watchung Reservation. Note that the pointer 3-7 remains at the samescale as before and has not been moved. Now the user desires to move toSurprise Lake and remembers that Surprise Lake is located to the upperright. So the finger 3-3 is placed in a corresponding location of themotion control 3-2 to move the map 4-1. This will cause the backgroundmap to move in the direction of the move map arrow 4-5. Another methodof moving the map is also possible by placing the finger on the directlyon the screen and moving the finger across the screen in the directionof the arrow 4-5; the map will then follow the finger. The handheldstationary device 4-4 (note that this portable unit does not move, whilethe map is moved) will eventually present a different portion of themap. In FIG. 4 c, this new portion of the map shows Surprise Lake whichis illustrated within the screen of the portable unit 4-8.

In FIG. 5 a, one embodiment of the invention is illustrated. In thiscase, instead of a detailed geographical map, a simplified map providinga few features of an idealized map is presented to simplify thediscussion. The motion control 3-2 is at the top left while the scale3-4 illustrates two pointers; a solid pointer 3-5 and a dotted pointer3-7, in the same position as before therefore providing the same scale.Beneath the scale is a new icon or identifier called the Sliding Windowidentifier 5-9. The pointer at 3-5 corresponds to the main displayscreen 5-1. The remaining background images in the map have been removedto improve the description of the invention. For example, within thescreen of the portable unit 5-1, there is only a star 5-2, an oval 5-3,a shaped structure 5-4, a triangle 5-5, and a rectangle 5-6. The bubble3-8 relates the pointer 3-7 to the screen of the portable unit 5-7 withthe same scale as before. The screen of the portable unit 5-7, althoughit's illustrated smaller here, will have the full-size of the display ofthe handheld device 5-1. The portable unit is a hand held device 5-8.FIG. Sb presents the screen of the portable unit 5-7 with the rectangle5-6 scaled to the same size as the previous slide. Note that through themagnification process of scaling, the second screen of the portable unit5-7 to have the same dimensions as the first screen of the portable unit5-1, the rectangle 5-6 is also scaled appropriately. The diagonal of thescreen is measured from corner 5-10 to corner 5-11.

The user can enter this Sliding Window mode several different ways. Theuser can tilt and a shift of the handheld unit in a certain order orsequence to initiate the handheld unit to enter the Sliding Window mode.Another possibility is to wiggle the unit a particular way, there can bea multitude of ways the unit can be moved to enter the mode. Anothermethod is by voice command by stating “Sliding Window mode”. Usingverbal commands simplifies the process of entering into the mode.Finally, a button (on a touch screen or a physical one on the unit) canbe touched/depressed to enter the Sliding Window mode. This methodprovides an easy procedure to enter the mode. Similarly, an equivalentprocedure can be used to leave the mode.

In FIG. 6 a, the screen of the portable unit 5-7 is now being held by auser's hand grasped by the thumb 6-5 and the fingers 6-1 through 6-4.The screen of the portable unit 5-7 presents a portion of the image of astationary map 6-9 showing the rectangle 5-6. In FIG. 4 a-c, the map orimage was moved while the portable unit remains stationary. Theinventive embodiment in FIG. 6 uses a stationary map while the portableunit is moved. The background map in this case remains stationary asindicated by 6-9. The objects of the image of a swum/my map 6-9 include:the star 5-2, the oval 5-3, the shaped structure 5-4 and the triangle5-5. These objects are in the map but currently they are not displayedwithin the display of 5-17 because the physical size of the screen andthe current scale (or magnification) only displays the rectangle 5-6 andits local vicinity. The screen will be located in front of the user at acomfortable distance from the user's face and the origin is assigned tothis location (0, 0). The origin can be mapped to a point in the imageof the stationary map. The user of the portable device moves thephysical device in the direction of the arrow 6-7 remembering earlier(see FIG. 5 a) that the oval was located to the upper right. Themovement corresponds to 30° 6-8 as indicated within the compass 6-6. Thediagram within shows the 0°, 90°, 180° and 270° marks on a circle andone referring back to the arrow 6-7 and the new angle 30° 6-8 within thecompass 6-6. The image of a stationary map as indicated by 6-9. Beneaththe scale 3-4 is the Sliding Window identifier 6-10 that now contains asmall arrow pointing in the direction of movement and the degreerelationship 30° of the arrow. Both, the compass 6-6 and identifier 6-10would be transparent and displayed on the screen.

The origin can be assigned to any point on the image of the stationarymap. The mapping can be done by touch screen, entry of the address ofthe location, voice command or cursor control. The origin allows theuser to select a reference point which allows the user to reach thisreference point quickly or conversely use the reference point to basemeasurements with respect to this point.

The reference angle of 0° can be set by an initialization process byplacing the X-axis, for example, on the two dimensional representationof the image of the stationary map. The unit can be moved back and forthin a plane perpendicular to the user along a horizontal line, forexample, to indicate where the 0°-180° line exists. Since the user isfacing the screen, the software within the unit can determine where the0° reference angle is with respect to the user which would be located tothe right of the user.

The distance that the portable device moves is determined by an inertialguidance system (described later) and this distance is related to thescale of the map. The scale of the map being viewed is known by thesystem. This scale could be, for example, a 10 cm displacementcorresponding to 100 m used by the software to generate information thatinstructs the inertial guidance system to adjust distance measurementsuch that a 10 cm displacement corresponds to 100 m. As the user movesthe portable unit, the screen of the portable unit presents a moving mapto the user while the image of a stationary map is presented to theportable device. Since the screen and map have the same scale, the mapon the screen substantially superimposes over the map of the image of astationary map. In other words, the map on the screen mirrors or matchesthat portion of the stationary map. The user can now sense or feel thedistance between location on the map by experiencing the distance andangle displacement.

In FIG. 6 b, the portable device was moved until the display 5-7presents the oval 5-3 within the display screen of the portable unit.The portable unit has been moved through a distance and

Method and Apparatus of a Marking Objects in Images Displayed on aPortable Unit direction corresponding to vector 6-11. A vector has amagnitude (distance) and direction (angle). Once the portable unitpresents the oval 5-3, the unit is paused to view the image. Below theslider scale, the Sliding Window identifier 6-12 illustrates a circleindicating that the user has stopped movement of his portable device.

In FIG. 6 c, the user now moves the screen of the portable unit 5-7 in adirection of 180° as indicated by the move portable unit arrow 6-13. Thecompass 6-6 indicates a direction, in this case, indicating a 180° 6-15movement as indicated by the arrow 6-13. Once again, the map remainsstationary while only the physical device held by the user is moved6-13. Below the slider is the Sliding Window identifier 6-14 indicatinga 180° movement as indicated by the. arrow and the indicated value ofdegrees. In FIG. 6 d, the user is still moving the portable device andthe display screen 5-7 in the same direction as indicated by the arrow.This is verified by the Sliding Window identifier below the slider whichindicates that the arrow is pointed at 180°.

In FIG. 6 e, the screen of the portable unit 5-7 is now paused over thestar 5-2 which is shown on the display screen. The distance anddirection between the oval 5-3 and a star 5-2 is illustrated by thevector 6-16. The Sliding Window identifier 6-12 indicates that the userhas stopped movement since the circle is within the box.

In FIG. 6 f, the user now moves in the direction of the arrow 6-19. Asthe user moves the portable unit, the user is observing the screen ofthe portable unit 5-7 and can see any minute details in the backgroundthe stationary map as it progresses along the direction of the arrow6-19. Below the slider the Sliding Window identifier 6-17 indicates thedirection of movement of the portable unit by the arrow and the angularrelationship of that arrow being 240°. Referring now to the compass 6-6,the new degree movement of 240° 6-18 is entered.

In FIG. 6 g, the screen of the portable unit 5-7 now presents the object5-4. In addition the distance and direction between the star 5-2 and theobject 5-4 is presented by the vector 6-20. Below the slider since theportable device is stationary, the box indicates that the device is notmoving by the zero within the identifier 6-12.

In FIG. 6 h, the user moves the screen of the portable unit 5-7 in thedirection of the move portable unit arrow. Once again, the map remainsstationary while only the physical device moves. While the portable unitmoves the display screen presents any of the details associated with themap. Since the potable unit is moving, the Sliding Window identifier6-10 below the slider presents the direction of movement of the unit bythe arrow at 30°. The compass box 6-6 illustrates the 30° 6-8.

In FIG. 6 i, the user has stopped at the rectangular object 5-6 which isdisplayed on the screen of the portable unit 5-7. The distance betweenthe object 5-4 and the rectangle 5-6 is indicated by the vector 6-21which shows the distance and direction. Note below the slider, the boxwith the circle indicating the movement has stopped since now the useris observing the rectangle and its local environment.

In FIG. 6 j, the screen of the portable unit 5-7 d has been moved 45°along vector 6-22 to display the oval 5-3 within the display 5-7 a. TheSliding Window identifier 6-27 below the slider presents the directionof movement of the unit by the arrow at 45°. Recapping, moving along the180° dotted arrow 6-23, the screen of the portable unit 5-7 b presentsthe Star 5-2. Moving along the 240° clotted arrow 6-24, the screen ofthe portable unit 5-7 c views the object 5-4. The screen of the portableunit 5-7 d can then return to the rectangle 5-6 by moving the unit alongthe 30° dotted arrow 6-25.

The innovative embodiment allows these distances and angles along thestationary map to be related to the movement of the screen of theportable unit by the user's hand. The physical movement of the portableunit in physical space is bonded to the stationary map in the user'smind. This allows the user to easily relate to the stationary map andallows the user to visualize and “feel” where the various locations arewithin the map in a physical sense.

This relation of the physical sense to the stationary map can be used tosearch and find an object that may be further away. Let's assume thatthe screen of the portable unit 5-7 d is observing the rectangle 5-6 andthat the user remembers that there was a triangle 5-5 in the map. Theuser knows that the triangle 5-5 was located to the lower rightsomewhere in the 5 o'clock direction. However, the exact location of thetriangle 5-5 now needs to be searched since the user knows that thetriangle is within the region 7-1 as illustrated in FIG. 7 a. The firstintention of the user is to move the screen of the portable unit 5-7about 300° along the vector 7-2. According to the compass 6-6, a newangle take 300° 7-3 is placed on the circle. Below the slider is theSliding Window identifier 7-4 illustrating the direction of the portableunit and its angle of 300°. In FIG. 7 b, the user moves the screen ofthe portable unit 5-7 about 60° along vector 7-6 which adds a new tick7-5 to the compass. Beneath the slider the Sliding Window identifier 7-7indicates the arrow which presents the direction the user is moving thedisplay and the degrees of 60°. Not finding the object of interest thetriangle 5-5, the user continues the search.

In FIG. 7 c, the user moves the screen of the portable unit 5-7 about300° along vector 7-8 to finally position the triangle 5-5 in thescreen. The Sliding Window identifier 7-4 indicates the direction theuser moved the portable device by the arrow at 300°. Once the user findsto triangle 5-5, it is a very easy matter to come back to the rectangle5-6 since that was the starting point along vector 7-9 as illustrated inFIG. 7 d and the Sliding Window identifier 7-10.

Getting back to the origin (reference point) can be easily verified bythe reader, by placing their hand in front of their face, whichindicates the (0, 0) location (origin) that would correspond, forexample, to where the rectangle 5-6 is located. Now move your hand todifferent locations within the plane perpendicular before you and onefinds that one can always return to the (0, 0) location. Thus, even ifthe user gets lost searching for an object, the user can always returnback to the origin. After finding the triangle 5-5, the process ofreturning to the origin is straightforward. To return back to thestarting point of the where the rectangle 5-6 is located; the usermerely moves their hand back in the center of his face. Thus, thereference point of 5-6 illustrating where the rectangle is easy toreestablish and present on the screen of the portable unit since theorigin is located at the central common comfortable point of the user.

This technique of maintaining the bitmaps stationary and only moving theportable device can be applied to the map of Bell Labs, the WatchungReservation and Surprise Lake that was investigated earlier. In FIG. 4a-c the map was moved while the screen of the portable unit 5-7 wasmaintained stationary. In FIGS. 5-8, the map remains stationary and thescreen of the portable unit is moved. In FIG. 8 a, the starting point ororigin would be Bell Labs as indicated on the screen of the portableunit 5-7. The user moves the portable unit in the direction of the moveportable unit arrow 8-2. The background image of a stationary map 8-1exists in a database and as the portable unit moves, memory buffers arefilled by the database to present to the user the map corresponding tothe distance and angle to where the portable unit was displaced.Furthermore, as the portable unit is moving in a particular direction,the memory components corresponding to that direction are pre-fetchedfor quicker loadine, into the memory or cache. The Sliding Windowidentifier 8-3 as illustrated below the scale corresponds to 340°movement. In FIG. 8 b, the user is viewing the Watchung Reservation onthe screen of the portable unit 5-7 and decides to view Surprise Lake.Remembering where Surprise Lake was earlier, the user moves the physicaldevice in the direction of the move portable unit arrow 8-4. The SlidingWindow identifier 8-5 as illustrated below the scale corresponds to 40°movement. In FIG. 8 c, the screen of the portable unit 5-7, afterviewing Surprise Lake, is now moved back to its initial startingposition of Bell Labs. The user moves the physical device along the moveportable unit arrow 8-6 and returns to Bell labs as illustrated in FIG.8 d. The user has returned the portable unit 5-7 back to Bell Labs onceagain and at this point this is the reference location or origin asindicated earlier which would be in a comfortable position before theuser's face. In addition since the user has stopped the movement of theportable unit 5-7 as indicated by the identifier 6-12.

An inertial guidance system 9-2 is illustrated in a MEMS integratedcircuit 9-1 as depicted in FIG. 9 a. Within the inertial guidance systemare two boxes: the three axis accelerometer 9-4 and three axis gyroscope9-3. The accelerometer senses the current acceleration of the portableunit along the three axes in distance per unit time. The gyroscopedetermines the current device orientation with respect to the threeaxes. The screen of the portable unit is displaying a map at a givenscale with the origin of the map at the center of the screen. The userdecides to view the region to the upper right of the map. The user movesthe portable device into that physical space. Once the portable unit ismoved, the information from the accelerometer and gyroscope sensors isapplied to a microprocessor. In addition, the microprocessor uses thecurrent scale of the map. The microprocessor calculates (based on theacceleration, orientation scale of the map, and origin position) the newposition of the map that should be displayed in the center of the screenof the portable unit. The microprocessor issues instructions to thememory to provide the data corresponding to the newly calculatedposition. The data from the memory is processed and applied to thescreen of the portable unit. The map corresponding to the new positionis viewed on the screen by the user to provide the user with informationregarding the contents of the map to the upper right of the mapcorresponding in scale to where the screen of the portable unitcurrently is. Since the processor calculation and memory access canoccur in microseconds, the screen can display the contents of the newregions almost instantaneously to the user. Thus, the map that isdisplayed to the user on the screen of the portable device provides mapinformation that is tightly bound to the positional location of theportable unit. This provides the user with an intuitive feeling of thepositions of the objects in the map to the physical positions ofportable unit to the user. The system behaves as if a stationary mapexists behind the portable unit and the screen of the portable unit is aSliding Window exposing the portion of the image of the stationary mapbehind the portable unit.

As the user moves the portable unit, the movement is sensed by theinertial guidance system. This information provided by the inertialguidance system can be applied to a processor and an algorithm or asoftware program to determine the actual movement and relative directionof movement of the portable unit as the user moves the portable unit asindicated above. This information is used to display the correct portionof the stationary background map on the screen.

The interaction of the movement of the portable unit can be performed ina two dimensional plane (along the plane of the screen) or in a threedimensional space (along the plane of the screen and perpendicular tothe screen). The tern directional distance is a vector which has avector representing distance and direction. In two dimensions, thevector would have distance and an angle measured to a reference axis. Intwo dimensions, the directional distance can be R (distance) and Theta.In a three dimensions, the system is usually described in the Cartesiansystem (X, Y and Z axes), although the cylindrical (P, Phi and Z) orspherical (R, Phi, Theta) systems may be appropriate if the map has theright symmetry. For instance, the directional distance in threedimensions can be defined as R (distance) and two angles: Phi angle andTheta angle. However, before interacting with the memory, all coordinatesystems need to translated to the Cartesian system since the memoryarray would typically be arranged using the Cartesian system. A narrowerterm perpendicular distance implies the perpendicular distance from asurface of a plane. The magnitude of direction is the distance betweentwo points on a map. The map could also be an image, an object or anybitmap. In addition, a two dimensional cross section would be the imageof slicing an object with a plane. This image would contain the outlineof the object.

The three dimensional system uses a vector that has a directionaldistance as in spherical coordinates. The Phi and Theta degrees are alsoused. These spherical coordinates can be translated into Cartesiancoordinates when needed. The perpendicular displacement of the portableunit allows a map that is being viewed to represent a three dimensionalstructure, for example, a city with building where each building hasseveral floors.

In FIG. 9 b, a more detailed block diagram of the portable unit ispresented. This unit has an antenna 9-6 coupled to an RF module 9-10.The RF module is coupled to the processor 9-12. An interface block thathas a speaker 9-7 and a microphone 9-8 is coupled to the processor 9-12.The processor 9-12 is also coupled to a display 9-9, a memory 9-11, aGPS (Global Positioning Satellite) 9-13 and software block 9-14. TheMEMS inertial guidance system 9-1 is coupled to the processor and to thesoftware block to evaluate the movement of the portable handheld unit.The inertial guidance system provides movement data to a microprocessorand the microprocessor calculates the angle and the distance of themovement using the software block. An external memory or database can beused to store a portion of the image of a stationary map. An RF module9-10 and antenna 9-6 can access an external database to supply thememory with data for the image of a stationary map. The GPS can, ifdesired, provide geographical locations data such as latitude andlongitude.

FIG. 10 a and FIG. 10 b illustrate the difference between the twosystems of when the map is moved and when the device is moved. In FIG.10 a, the map 10-1 is moved while the portable unit 4-2 remainsstationary. When the map is moved as indicated by the arrow in FIG. 10a, the screen of the portable unit 4-2 remains stationary and displaysthe map as it is slid to the lower left exposing the upper rightportions on the screen of the portable unit. The map 10-1 exists in amemory or a fast cache. These memories may need to be replenished by adatabase as the map presents itself to the screen of the portable unit.The movement of the map is accomplished by depressing the movementcontrol 3-2 by a finger 3-3. Other means of sliding the map include atouch screen where a finger sliding on the face of the screen or displaydrags the map. The table beneath indicates three aspects of the slidingmap movement. First, the device remains stationary. Second, the movementof the map is done in increments and any scale associated with it toprovide an intuitive grasp to the user of dimensions is lost. Andlastly, because of this the map movement lacks an intuitive “feel to theuser” as to regards to the distance and angles the map has been slid.With regards to the last item, the user cannot use his experience toeasily identify where they have been and how to get back.

In contrast, FIG. 10 b shows the innovative embodiment of the devicemovement technique. The compass 6-6 shows the movement of 45° of thedevice or portable unit 5-7 is moved in the direction of the arrow 10-4.The screen of the portable unit 5-7 moves to the upper right anddisplays the stationary map on the screen of the portable unit. Thus,the user moves the portable unit 5-7 in the direction 10-4 while the map10-3 remains stationary. The innovative device movement presents threeaspects. The first is that the map 10-3 remains stationary. The secondaspect is that the movement of the portable unit 5-7 directly correlatesto dimensions of the map 10-3. This is a big advantage since now as theuser moves the portable unit; the distance that the user moves theportable unit through is related directly to the distance (at a givenscale) of the map 10-3. Thus, the movement of the device or portableunit directly correlates with the map dimensions. Lastly, the movementthat the user experiences allows the user to “feel” and grasp thevarious locations by various positions in physical space. This providesfor this innovative distance and angle understanding of the map 10-3which remains stationary and is being scanned by the moving portableunit 5-7.

Two flowcharts are illustrated. The first flowchart in FIG. 11 a relatesto the sliding of a map on the screen of a stationary unit. The secondflowchart in FIG. 11 b moves the screen of a unit across an image of astationary map.

In FIG. 11 a, the user enters the location into an online map 11-1. Theuser then moves the map to find a new item 11-2 and if the item is notfound 11-3, then compensation is made if the map was scaled (11-8 and11-9). If the user is lost 11-10 then the user should enter the locationagain 11-12 and repeat the previous steps. However, if the item had beenfound 11-3, and the user knew their position 11-4 and desired moredetails 11-6, then the map could be scaled to magnify the map 11-7. Oncethe user extracted the information desired, the map is un-scaled 11-9and if the user is not lost 11-10, then the user could drag the map tofind a new location 11-2.

In FIG. 11 b, the user enters the location into an online map 11-1. Theuser then moves the device to find a new item 11-11 and if the item isnot found, then compensation is made if the map was scaled. If the useris lost 11-10 then the user should move the device to the start position11-14 and repeat the previous steps. However, if the item had beenfound, and the user knew their position 11-4 and desired more details,then the map could be scaled to magnify the map. Once the user extractedthe information desired, the map is un-scaled and if the user is notlost, then the user could move the device to find a new item 11-11. Inthis flowchart where the device or portable unit is moved, the “feel”that the physical space provides indicates that the path through theknown position decision 11-4 would typically follow the arrowed linepath 11-13 since the user improves their chances of knowing the positionor location. Similarly, the user will less likely be lost 11-10 andfollow will the arrowed line path 11-13.

FIG. 12 illustrates another flowchart. The user enters the location oritem 12-1, the system then determines the memory size of the screen 12-2and once the location or item is found, the system retrieves the mapfrom memory 12-3 and then determines if the item is sync'ed (typically,in the center of the screen) and maps this point to the reference (0, 0)or origin. If the unit is not synced, the flow moves to box 12-4 whichallows the user to sync the (0, 0) point to any particular portion ofthe screen or display. Once the unit is synced with the (0, 0), the userthen enters the Sliding Window mode 12-6. The user moves into theretrieval of the adjacent and diagonal map blocks that are outside thefield of view of the display 12-7. At this point with the memory beingfilled, the user can move the device in physical space 12-8 to view thestationary map. As the user is moving the portable device, the system iscalculating the physical angles and distances 12-9 and transferringthese measurements to the stationary map. This shows the user thoseitems that were previously out of view and also prepares determining ifmore memory will be required, particularly if the portable device ismoving in the same and constant direction. Thus, if more memory isrequired 12-10 the system fetches more memory and continues thecalculation of the distance and angle measurement 12-9. If the memory issufficient, the display continues showing the map with the details12-11. If the user still maintains the device in motion 12-12 there maybe a need to get additional memory. However if the device remainsstationary, the user can display the map the angle and the distance fromthe starting point 12-13. IF the user is satisfied with the results ofthis particular search, and the user is done 12-14 and then can exit theSliding Window mode 12-15 then terminate the process 12-16. However ifthe user wants to continue viewing the map, the user of the device canretrieve adjacent and diagonal map blocks 12-7 according to thedirection that the user is moving returning the user back to moving thedevice in physical space 12-8.

FIG. 13 a illustrates yet another inventive embodiment of identifyingwhere objects are when they are not in view within the display. The userusually starts by using a reduced magnification of the map to determinevarious adjacent aspects of the map. The map will be scaled down(decreased magnification) to see the adjoining components or adjacentmembers that the user may be interested in viewing. Once thesecomponents are located, the user may want to view these components at anincreased magnification. For example, when the user uses the settingsfor the bubble 3-6 (the slide at 3-5 and screen 5-1) the screen of theportable unit 5-1 shows a large area image of a stationary map ispresented to the user. This image includes the star 5-2, the oval 5-3,the object 5-4 and the triangle 5-5. In addition, in the very center itis a rectangle 5-6 which corresponds to the location of the (0, 0) ororigin. When the user increases magnification according to the bubble3-8 (the slide at 3-7 and 5-7) the rectangle 5-6 would remain within thescreen of the portable device 5-7. Thus, when the slider is moved tolocation 3-7 corresponding to the bubble 3-8, the user has magnified orscaled positively the image of the stationary background map includingthe rectangle 5-6.

However, before doing so the user can place location markers on theobjects using the Marker identifier 13-1. The location markers can beletters, numbers, or shapes placed near the desired objects to beviewed. Other possibilities include placing the pointer of a mouse nearthe object and clicking, or verbally stating to location mark this pointusing vice recognition. For example, the location markers can be thesquares 13-2 to 13-5 containing numbers. The number 1 marker is placednear the object 5-4; the number 2 marker is placed near the star 5-2,the number 3 marker is placed near the oval 5-3 and the number 4 markeris placed near the triangle 5-2. The portable unit can be eitherstationary or moving. Once the slider moves to 3-7 to give therelationship of 3-8, the rectangle 5-6 is magnified as depicted in FIG.13 b. The location marker identifier 13-10 indicates the system isenabled. After magnification, a road 13-11 becomes visible and therectangle 5-6 has also been magnified. On this display screen 5-7 arethose earlier location markers labeling corresponding arrows (or anyequivalent symbols) to point to the matched objects in the screen inFIG. 13 a. For example, to get to the number 1 marker 13-2 follow arrow13-6, to get to the number 2 marker 13-3 follow arrow 13-7, to get tothe number 3 marker 13-4 follow arrow 13-8 and to get to the number 4marker 13-5 follow arrow 13-9. This inventive embodiment allows for themap to be moved by either the motion control 3-2 or by sliding a fingeralong the screen. An alternative embodiment would be to move thephysical portable unit while keeping the map stationary. All of thearrows and location markers are transparent allowing the user to see themap beneath them. As the user moves the device to one of theidentifiers, for example, in the direction of the arrow 13-6corresponding to the number I marker 13-2, the three other arrows 13-7through 13-9 continually adjust themselves to point to the currentlocation of the other three objects. This innovative technique allowsthe user to mark locations, magnify the image of the map, and find allmarked locations (without reverting to a lower magnification) byfollowing pointers that direct the user to locations that are currentlyout of view of the screen. Furthermore, the user can find all markedlocations without getting lost.

FIG. 14 illustrates yet another flowchart. The user enters the locationor item 12-1, the system then determines the memory size of the screen12-2 and once the location or item is found, the system retrieves themap from memory 12-3 and then determines if the item is sync'ed(typically, in the center of the screen) maps this point to thereference (0, 0) or origin. If the unit is not synced, the flow moves tobox 12-4 which allows the user to sync the (0, 0) point to anyparticular portion of the screen or display. Once the unit is syncedwith the (0, 0), the user then reduces the scale of the map 14-1. Theuser analyzes and studies items in the local area 14-2, clicks to placemarkers near the interesting positions or locations 14-3 (the positionscan be marked with markers from a list, markers generated by the user,clicked and identified with a mouse click, clicked and voice activated),increases the magnification 14-4, enters the window mode 15-5 and thenthe user selects a marker 14-6. The user is given a choice 14-7:manually follow the marker 14-8 or let the system auto route to themarker 14-9. Once the user arrives at the position 14-10, and analyzesand extracts what they needed, the user returns to the origin 14-11. Ifthe user still has other markers to view 14-12 then they select adifferent marker, or they terminate the search 14-13. As the user ismoving the portable device or the map is being moved, the system iscalculating the physical angles and distances and transferring thesemeasurements to the identifiers of the remaining unviewed markers.

So far everything has been done in a two dimensional space (X and Yaxes), the technique can also be extended to 3-D (three dimensional)space (X, Y and Z axes). Three dimensions (3-D) are important for thedescription of buildings, the layout of each floor in a building, studyof molecular models, analyzing the internal structure of solid objects,etc. There can be several ways of viewing the 3-D space. For instance,the X and Y axes may be moved by touching and moving fingers across thescreen while the third dimension of the Z axis is displayed by amovement of the portable unit. Another way is for all three dimensionsto be activated by the movement of the portable unit in threedimensions. Yet another way is to use a touch screen to move in twodimensions and have a third temperature scale to move in the thirddimension. Speech and voice recognition can be used to control themovement of the map, by stating for example, move left, move up, movedown, move in, move out three units, etc. In addition, there can be manyvariations by combining the above methods.

FIG. 15 a illustrates a 3-D map where the user moves the screen of theportable unit in a stationary map that is three dimensional. The plane15-3 can be selected as a reference plane. The X, Y and Z axes 15-1 showthat the user maintains the screen of the portable unit parallel to theX-Y plane. In addition, the direction of the X axis determines thereference 0° angle in this plane. Other possibilities allow the screenin the XZ or YZ planes and for that matter, at any orientation withrespect to the three axes. Below the scale 3-4 is the 3-D identifier15-2 with an arrow moving upwards: This would correspond to the path ofmovement in the vector 15-8. The slider 3-7 is set to the samemagnification as in the screen of the portable unit shown in FIG. 13 band beneath the scale is the 3-D identifier 15-2. The reference plane15-3 is equivalent to the map presented in FIG. 13 a. This plane showsthe star 5-2, the object 5-4, the triangle 5-5 and the rectangle 5-6.The screen of the portable unit 5-7 a is displaying the object 5-4.After the perpendicular motion 15-8, the user is now on plane 15-4 whichcontains a rectangle 15-5, a pie shape 15-6 and a cross 15-7. The usermoves the portable unit along the vector 15-9 to display on the screenof the portable unit 5-7 b the cross 15-7 and its local vicinity. Theoverall distance that the unit has moved is illustrated by the vector15-10. This vector has a distance, the magnitude of 15-10, associatedwith the three dimension space. This vector 15-10 is positioned at anangle φ (phi) from the X-axis and at an angle Θ (theta) from the Z-axis,thus, providing the spherical coordinates for the movement.

FIG. 15 b illustrates the screen nine (9) views of different planes onthe screen of the portable unit 5-7 c through 5-7 k. According to thetransparent head of the arrow 15-13, the portable unit is being, movedtowards the user or out of the page. Due to the movement of the portableunit, each plane presents a cross sectional view of the object. The headis transparent to allow the object (or map) behind the head to beviewed. These views are presented when the unit is moved perpendicularto the plane of the page. These images presented need to be combinedmentally by the user to visualize that the object being viewed is asphere 15-11. The solid image is effectively determined by a summationof all the cross sections of the object as the user moves perpendicularto the screen. If the user cannot guess what the object is, then theunit can present an image of a sphere.

FIG. 15 c shows the movement away from the user by the downwards arrowlabeled “9 to 1”. The label means that the user is looking at 9, 8, 7 .. . to 1 in secession in FIG. 15 b causing the portable unit to moveaway from the user; thus, the transparent tail 15-12 (or the feathers)of the arrow would be visible to the user. The tail is transparent toallow the object (or map) behind the tail to be viewed. FIG. 15 d showsthe movement towards the user by the upwards arrow labeled “1 to 9”. Thelabel means that the user is looking at 1, 2, 3 . . . to 9 in secessionin FIG. 15 b causing the portable unit to move toward the user; thus,the head 15-13 (or the point) of the arrow would be visible to the user.Both the tail 15-12 and head 15-13 are visible on the screen and aretransparent.

The transparent tail and head can indicate to the user how far above orbelow a reference plane the current view on the screen of the portableunit is. As the user moves away from the reference plane, the diameterof the transparent head or tail can be made proportional to the distanceabove or below the reference plane. For a three dimensional display, thetransparent head and tail symbols along with the projected transparentarrow on the plane of the screen, the user can follow the arrow to moveto the correct planar location and then use the head or tails symbol toalter the depth or height above the plane corresponding to the screen tolocate a missing object or location.

FIG. 16 a-c illustrates other distance and movement measuring devicesand procedures. FIG. 16 a illustrates transceivers 16-1, 16-2 and 16-3placed in the local environment. These transceivers initialize theirinterface by emitting signals 16-4, 16-5 and 16-6 and receiving thebi-directional signals 16-4, 16-5 and 16-6 from these transceivers todetermine a relative position of each transceiver with respect to theother. Then, in FIG. 16 b, a portable unit 5-7 enters the environmentand sends signals 16-7, 16-8 and 16-9 between the portable unit 5-7 tothe transceivers 16-1, 16-2 and 16-3 to determine the relative positionof the unit. This information is used by the unit 5-7 to determine theamount of movement, either with or without an interaction with theinertial guidance system. FIG. 16 c illustrates an addition of anexternal processor 16-16 to aid in the calculation. In FIG. 16 c, aportable unit 5-7 enters the environment and sends signals 16-7, 16-8and 16-9 from the portable unit 5-7 to the transceivers 16-13, 16-14 and16-15. The transceivers 16-13, 16-14 and 16-15 send theirresults 16-10,16-11 and 16-12 to the processor 16-16 to determine the relativeposition of the unit. The processor then sends a signal 16-17 to theportable unit 5-7 to provide the relative displacement of the unit. Thesignal can contain a wavelength or a short duration of energy that canbe monitored and measured which indicates time of flight of the signal.The signal can be RF, audio, light or any other form of electromagneticradiation. For example, ultra-sound can be used to measure the distanceof the back of the portable unit to the closest obstruction. As the usermoves the portable unit away or toward the obstruction, the Z-axisvalues is altered in a three dimension system. This distance is used topresent the different planes within the three dimensional solid beingviewed on the screen.

FIG. 17 depicts a 3-D space where the user can choose to remain on thesame plane or move between planes. The goal is to get from home 17-1 tothe star 17-2, the first oval 17-3, the second oval 17-4 or the triangle17-5 without contacting any of the obstacles. The movement could beperformed by moving the unit or by moving the map. This maze or puzzlecan be a 2-D or 3-D game.

Finally, it is understood that the above description are onlyillustrative of the principle of the current invention. Variousalterations, improvements, and modifications will occur and are intendedto be suggested hereby, and are within the spirit and scope of theinvention. This invention may, however, be embodied in many differentforms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments setforth herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided so that thedisclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey thescope of the invention to those skilled in the arts: It is understoodthat the various embodiments of the invention, although different, arenot mutually exclusive. The microprocessor is a device that is used tocalculate the distance that the portable device moves and to interactwith the database in the memory to provide the data corresponding to thenew portion of the map associated with the distance change. The datafrom the memory is translated into display data by the processor. Themicroprocessor could also be a DSP or video processor. In accordancewith these principles, those skilled in the art may devise numerousmodifications without departing from the spirit and scope of theinvention. The three dimensional space can contain detailed maps,objects, solids, floor plans, cities, underground pipelines, etc.

What is claimed is:
 1. A portable unit comprising: a screen displaying amap at a first scale; a plurality of locations in the map are marked bylocation markers; the map is set to a second scale; at least onelocation marker is not displayed on the screen; and a transparent arrowpoints in a direction to each missing location marker.
 2. The portableunit of claim 1, further comprising: the transparent arrow identifiesthe identity of each missing location marker.
 3. The portable unit ofclaim 1, further comprising: an image of the map mapping onto a twodimensional plane.
 4. The portable unit of claim 1, further comprising:an origin mapped to a point on the image of the map.
 5. The portableunit of claim 1, further comprising: an X-axis mapped to a line on theimage of the map.
 6. The portable unit of claim 5, further comprising: amicroprocessor calculates an angle of the direction of each transparentarrow points using software.
 7. The portable unit of claim 1, furthercomprising: a memory to store the image of a map; and an RF module toaccess an external database to supply the memory with data.
 8. Aportable unit comprising: a screen displaying a map on a first plane; aplurality of locations in the map are marked by location markers; themap is moved displaying a new portion of the map on the screen; at leastone location marker is not displayed on the screen; and a transparentarrow points to each missing location marker.
 9. The portable unit ofclaim 8, further comprising: an image of the map maps into a threedimensional space.
 10. The portable unit of claim 8, further comprising:an origin mapped to any three dimensional point within an image of themap representing the three dimensional space.
 11. The portable unit ofclaim 8, further comprising: an X-axis mapped to a line in an image ofthe map.
 12. The portable unit of claim 8, further comprising: amicroprocessor to calculate a projected angle of each transparent arrowon the first plane.
 13. The portable unit of claim 8, furthercomprising: a transparent head with a diameter proportion to a heightabove the first plane of each missing location marker; and a transparenttail with a diameter proportion to a depth below the first plane of eachmissing location marker.
 14. The portable unit of claim 8, furthercomprising: a memory to store an image of the map; and an RF module toaccess an external database to supply the memory with data.
 15. A methodof moving a portable unit by a distance to display a new locationcomprising the steps of: displaying a map on a first plane of a screen;marking a plurality of locations in the map by location markers;displaying a new portion of the map when the map is moved, whereby atleast one location marker is not displayed on the screen; and atransparent arrow points to each missing location marker.
 16. Theprocess of claim 15, further comprising the steps of: mapping an imageof the map within a three dimensional space.
 17. The process of claim15, further comprising the steps of: mapping an origin to a point withinthe image of the map representing the three dimensional space.
 18. Theprocess of claim 15, further comprising the steps of: calculating aprojected angle of each transparent arrow on the first plane by amicroprocessor.
 19. The process of claim 18, further comprising thesteps of: displaying a transparent head with a diameter proportion to aheight above the first plane of each missing location marker; anddisplaying a transparent tail with a diameter proportion to a depthbelow the first plane of each missing location marker.
 20. The processof claim 15, further comprising the steps of: storing an image of a mapto a memory; and accessing an external database with an RF module tosupply the memory with data.
 21. A portable unit comprising: a screendisplaying a map at a first scale; a user marks at least two locationsin the map by markers; the map is set to a second scale excluding atleast one location markers; and a transparent arrow points to theexcluded location marker.